Over 3 lakh illegal Indian Americans in California

HOUSTON: Indian Americans, one of the most affluent ethnic groups in the United States, has over three lakh people without legal visas in California's Bay Area.

The Indian Americans have a median household income that is 62 per cent higher than the figure for all US households.

Experts said almost all of them entered the USA legally but have violated terms of their visas.

Others arrived on tourist visas and never went home or lost legal status through divorce, experts told the Mercury News. Fewer than 500 are deported each year, the paper said. Among the nation's counties, Santa Clara County has the largest Indian-born population and Alameda County ranks fifth, according to 2006 Census data.

Immigration lawyers say that particularly among Indians, the ups and downs of Silicon Valley's economy since 2001 are one reason why Indians have fallen out of legal status.